Work in Progress

I have just finished reading a biography of Billy Sunday written by Lyle Dorsett.  I had read half of it for one of my class projects this semester, but kept it check out of the library so that I could finish it.  By his own confession, Dorsett takes a less enthusiastic approach to Billy Sunday than most biographers, trying to portray a historically accurate picture of Sunday and his contributions to American Christianity.

Billy Sunday was a country boy turned professional baseball player turned mass evangelist and was dear to the hearts of many Americans during his time.  At his apex he was preaching to the biggest crowds ever reached by an evangelists and saw many people commit their lives to Christ and clean up their lives.  There is no doubt that he was used mightily by God to impact many.

Like all the biographies I have read about men of faith there are huge lessons to be learned from Sunday both positively and negatively.  One of the keys to Billy’s success is said to be “his ability to take instruction from an able mentor and yet avoid becoming so imitative that his own personality and originality were lost in the process” (p54).  This is a flaw we see in both the secular and sacred world and is something ever emerging Christian leader has to work through.  We have to learn the lessons from the people around us without merely becoming replicas of them.

The test proves the real strength of a man, for no man is any stronger than he is at his weakest point. (p55)

This is a good quote to keep me humble!  We live in a world that teaches us to hide our weaknesses and flaunt our strengths.  Transparency is key to the Christian life.  When pride sneaks up on us it is good to reflect on our weaknesses and remember that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link!

It is interesting to read of these men of faith who worked themselves into the ground for the sake of the gospel.  We are so conscious today of burnout that I wonder why these people did it.  Billy Sunday like many before him made themselves ill by the amount of stress and strain they worked under.  These men preached 4 and 5 times a day for months on end, until they were bedridden.  Should they have taken on less to guard their health?  Did they do the right thing running themselves thin?  Would they have been more effective if they’d guarded against burnout?  or was it their constant work that lay behind the way God blessed their ministry?   (At the moment, if God wants me to preach 5 times a day until I wind up in hospital… I will.  In the meantime, I will do my best to protect myself from burnout, knowing that I am probably more effective to people when I have the energy to invest in them!)

In the later years of his ministry there was a lot of scandal surrounding Billy Sunday.  People criticized him for things likebeing too money-hungry; they commented on his wayward children; even the company he kept.  These things affirm the need for people in Christian leadership to be above reproach!  I’m sure when Jesus said that teachers will be judged with a stricter measure he fully meant ‘from the world’ as much as He meant by God.   Knowing that God keeps placing me in positions of leadership it is so important that I have good measures of accountability in my life, especially in the areas of weakness.  There are many books that talk about the dangers of power, money and sex, and so every Christian should make every effort to guard themselves in all of these areas.

Some of Sunday’s sermons are printed at the back of the book and a sermon he gave about Heaven he says:

If we could get a real appreciation of what Heaven is we would all be so homesick for Heaven the devil wouldn’t have a friend left on earth. (p172)

What an amazing thought!  How I long to be “homesick for Heaven”.  What a wonderful gift it would be to catch a glimpse of our eternal home while we still live.  And just as he says this about Heaven so it is with God’s glory.  When we catch a glimpse of the glory of God we will lose our desire for anything else!  We see tiny amounts of God’s grace each day, and it’s up to us to keep our eyes open to them so that we can rest in that contentment.  Enjoy creation and see His beauty.  Read the Words He gave to us and see Him.  Fall on your knees in prayer and rest in His presence.  Open your mouth and sing psalms and Hims, serenading the Great Composer!